American Love
by Dreatonkslupin
Summary: George Weasley and his family rent a cabin a year after the Final Battle. What he didn't expect was to find his true love on this trip. Rated M for a later chapter.
1. The First Meeting

George Weasley walked out of the cabin. Lee Jordan had suggested they use it for the summer and Fred and George graciously accepted. It had been over a year since Harry had destroyed Voldemort and everyone needed to celebrate. Only for the Weasley family, it took a year to get everyone off from work at the same time.

It also seemed like everyone in his family was getting married. Bill had married Fleur shortly after what the _Daily Prophet_ was calling "The Final Battle." George was glad that mess was over, as he had to wear awful teal robes. Fred had also been married in the past year to Angelina Johnson. They were now expecting a baby within the next few months. Ron and Ginny were also getting married; Ron to Hermione and Ginny to Harry. George started to feel slightly depressed at the thought of not having someone to fill that empty void in his life. He had only one real relationship and that was with Katie Bell. They had ended up going out for about six months, and at the end of the relationship, felt more like close friends than anything else.

The door opened behind him, and his twin stepped out.

"What's the matter, mate?" Fred asked.

"Nothing, just thinking up some new items for the store," George lied.

Fred raised an eyebrow. "I highly doubt that. Speaking of the store however, Verity just sent an owl saying that your Hiccup Wafers are flying off the shelves. She also said that your Sneezing Snacks work. She said the people that we tested on stopped sneezing after an hour, which is better than the first batch of people who didn't stop sneezing for a week. She has also gathered up some people for trying out our Animal Acoustic Crackers as well." He paused at the sight of his twin. George didn't even look remotely interested. "What is up with you?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Just a little lonely, you know?"

Fred nodded. "Hey, Lee told me about a nice little pond through those woods over there." He pointed behind the house. "Why don't you go there and relax? It's been a stressful year. Besides the Final Battle, you've been coming up with ideas left and right. Just go and get some much needed rest and relaxation."

"I guess your right. Let me just go get changed. I don't want to attract much attention with my cloak on," he laughed lightly. He went inside and changed into a pair of khaki shorts and a t-shirt. He threw some tennis shoes and went out the back door. Passing through the kitchen, he saw Hermione and Ginny looking through color swatches and giggling. He rolled his eyes as he closed the door behind him and set out on the path Fred told him about. He took in the scenery and felt completely at ease. He came to the end of the path and stopped. What he saw nearly took his breath away.

Near the edge of the lake was a girl. She had long brown wavy hair and when the sunlight flickered through the trees, he could see dark red highlights peek through. She wore her hair in a partial ponytail to keep it out of her face. She wore a black halter top with denim shorts and her sandals were tossed to the side as her feet soaked in the water's edge. She had her head down, drawing with what looked like to be a bit of charcoal.

Thunderstruck, he just stood there a bit longer. She continued to draw for what seemed like forever. Then she lifted her head and began to look around as if to see if anyone was there. George jumped behind a nearby bush and watched her through the branches. She evidently thought no one was around and grabbed her bag that was behind her. Searching through it, she found what she wanted. Looking around once more, she pulled out what she had been searching for.

A wand.

George let out a small gasp. That was the last thing he expected her to pull out.

She looked around yet once again and flicked her wand toward the lake. About a dozen lily pads shot out the end of her wand and landed in the lake. She smiled and continued to draw.

After a moment or two, she said (her head still down drawing, "Are you going to stay in those bushes all day and watch me draw or are you going to come out?" Her accent was American.

_Damn_, George thought. He slowly untangled himself from the bush and stepped out, his face the color of his hair.

She stood up and brushed her pants off. She held out her hand and said, "I'm Claire. And you are?"

"I'm George," he replied, taking her hand and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you," she said, sitting back down on the ground.

"How did you know I was back there?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

She leaned in close as if she wanted only him to hear. "I actually got an 'A' on my Divination O.W.L.," she laughed.

George laughed nervously and watched as she put her final touch on her drawing. She was a damn fine artist.

"How did you know I was a wizard?" he blurted out suddenly.

A small smile crept up on her face. He was beginning to like her smile more and more. "Well, besides barely passing Divination, I have heightened senses when there is a witch or wizard around. It's like I can feel the magic pulsing through them. Weird, I know."

"No," George smiled, "not weird at all."

She grabbed her wand and pulled out a small spell book. She opened it to a earmarked page, pointed her wand to the drawing, and muttered, "_Coloro_!" Color came from her wand and spread across the paper. After a moment, the entire drawing was filled with color. She smiled and said, "I got this book at Mavenhurst Boulevard. It has a bunch of spells one can use to help their drawings come to life. I don't know what I would do without it."

"Mavenhurst Boulevard?" George asked.

"Oh, it's in New York City. I believe you have something similar called Dialong Alley or something like that?"

"Diagon Alley. Yeah, we do. Actually, my brother and I have a store there."

"Really? What's it called?"

"Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes."

"Really? I really like your products," she said, laughing a bit at the slightly shocked look on his face. "My cousin lives in Britain. She sends me some of your things all the time." She went searching through her bag and pulled out a Canary Cream. She took the wrapping paper off and popped it into her mouth. Suddenly, she turned into a large yellow canary. After a few moments, she turned back into herself and was laughing. George was also laughing.

"I never get tired of those," he laughed. After the laughter died down, he asked, "Would you like to go and see Diagon Alley sometime?"

"Of course I would! Do you want to go tomorrow? We can Apparate there. I just got my license before this trip. To be honest, the reason we're taking this trip is because in the fall I'm set to work an exciting job at the American Ministry," she said.

"What job is that?"

"I will be working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I will mainly be working for the house elves registration sector. During my time at Salem, I was the head of House Elf Liberation Front, or H.E.L.F."

George smiled to himself as he thought of Hermione. "You definitely need to talk to Hermione."

"Who?"

"My friend. She's marrying my youngest brother."

"I would really like to meet them," she smiled. She looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh no! I'm late. I have to give my grandmother a bath." She winced. "Not a pretty site. If you ever want to talk or hang out, I live just over there." She pointed toward another path. "Take the left fork in the road and that will lead to my cabin. I hope to see you soon." She smiled and blushed. She grabbed her bag and sandals and ran off to the path.

"I hope to see you soon, too," George replied to her back.


	2. The First Date

A/N: I just finished this before I packed my laptop for moving. I should have my computer up and running soon as I'm only moving into town. Anyways, I know that the London Zoo is patterned this way (even though I try to be fairly accurate when it comes to places). The only thing that is true about the London Zoo is that they charge 14.50 Pounds per person. I actually patterned the zoo after the Tulsa Zoo, as I am from Tulsa. Also, the name of the male elephant is also patterned after the male elephant at the zoo here, as is the zoo restaurant. The elephants have a building in which you walk into and then at the end you can go to the elephant yard where the female elephants are. This area is secluded as many people are tired at this point and can see them also from the inside. For a map of the Tulsa Zoo, go to this link for a better idea of the set up: http/ went to bed early that night. He thought he was tired from the trip, but found out that he wasn't. Fred was snoring loudly in the other bed. Angelina was in another room as Mrs. Weasley wouldn't allow them to sleep in the same bed even though they were married.

He couldn't take it anymore. Whenever he couldn't sleep, he usually flew his broom. He went to the bottom of his bed into his trunk and grabbed his broom. Since opening the shop, Fred and him both got new brooms, Nimbus 2000's.

Trying to walk silently out of the room, he heard Fred stir.

"If you're thinking of flying, don't let mum hear you. She'll go into a long lecture about trying hide from the Muggles," Fred said sleepily. He turned over and began to snore again.

George laughed and stepped carefully down the stairs. Luckily, the stairs didn't creak too loudly. He walked out the back door and hopped on his broom.

The air that hit his face felt wonderful. He stayed on the path that lead to the lake so that he didn't go too high up. When he got to the lake, the lily pads that Claire had conjured were still there. Then he got an idea.

He went down the path she had told him, and finally found her cabin. It looked almost like his cabin. The lights were all off in the house except for one. He flew to it and saw the window was open and the sheer curtains were drawn.

Glancing in, he saw her pacing her room. She looked even more beautiful now then she did earlier. She wore long pajama pants and a tank top and her hair was on top of her head in a messy bun. Her feet were adorned with elephant slippers and she wore square plastic rimmed glasses. He also noted that she was talking. He didn't see anyone in her room and thought for a second she was talking to herself. In the corner, however, there was a large peacock quill which was writing in what looked like a journal.

"I met a guy today," she started. George held his breath as to hear every word. "He seems really nice, but very quiet. He promised me that he would take me to Diagon Alley to show me his shop. I can't wait. I really like this guy, but I might have blown it today. You know how I start to babble a bit when I meet a really good looking guy." At this, George slipped on his broom and hit the house with his hand. She stopped talking immediately. He clung to the side of the house, trying to blend in. She stuck her head a little ways out the window and didn't see him. She went back into her room and continued with a slight humor in her voice, "Sorry for the interruption, Diary. George, the guy I told you about, is trying to blend in with the wall outside my window. I guess he forgot that I got an A in my Divination O.W.L." She laughed as George cursed.

She stuck her head out the window and whispered, "Did you really think I didn't notice you?"

"I was hoping," George replied, flying to her window. "Do you want to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow?"

"Sure. I'm planning to go to the London Zoo tomorrow. If you want to come you can, and then afterwards we can hit Diagon Alley."

"Can't wait," he said.

"Pick me up at nine," she smiled.

"In the morning!"

"That's when they feed the animals and you see more stuff. See you then," she smiled. She walked back into her room and turned the light off.

George laid in bed and was sleeping quite well until he heard Fred groan.

"If you don't get that I'm going to blast the ruddy owl away," Fred groaned, turning over in bed. George opened his eyes, shielding them from the light. At the window was a large barn owl pecking on the glass. George stumbled over to the window and opened it. The owl flew in and landed on his bed. In it's beak was a letter. He took the letter from the bird's beak and opened it. In rather large writing, it said:

_I know you haven't gotten up yet so I wrote this in big letters so you wouldn't hurt your eyes. It's eight-thirty and you should be getting ready for our date. If you aren't here in thirty minutes, I will have to come to you. Then I'll have to meet your family. _

_Claire_

It took a moment for George to comprehend the message. He glanced at his bedside clock and it was now eight thirty-five.

He got up, stretching and made his way for the bathroom. The door was closed and he started to pound on it.

"Come on! I have to get ready!" he yelled.

Ginny poked her head out with her toothbrush still hanging out of her mouth.

"I am getting ready because me and Hermione are going into London to look at wedding robes. Why are you getting ready for?" she asked.

"I'm meeting someone," he replied curtly, forcing himself not to turn red.

Ginny smiled. "Ohhh… a girl. Well, I'm not going to be done in here for a while. Go to the end of the hallway, there's another bathroom there."

"So basically I've been wasting my time talking to you instead of getting ready? Why didn't you tell me!" he said, thumping her on the

head and running down to the other end of the hallway.

"I don't think I'm a waste of time and you didn't ask!" she yelled at him while throwing a bar of soap at him.

He took his shower and went to the sink to shave. He glanced at his watch. Eight forty-six. He shaved quickly and in the process got

many nicks and cuts. With toilet paper bits stuck to his face, he finished up and went to his closet. He stopped dead.

Was she expecting this to be a dress up date or a casual thing?

Just then, Ginny came in.

"Ginny! I need your help. What would a guy wear if him and his date were going to a Muggle zoo and then Diagon Alley?"

Ginny's smile widened. "I knew it was a girl."

He looked at his watch. Eight fifty-five. "Ginny, I don't have time!"

"Go casual. You don't want to be all dressed up at a zoo." She picked out a pair of jean shorts and a lightweight cotton shirt. She then picked up some sandals that were next to his bed. "Here, wear this. It's casual, yet dressy."

George kissed her on the top of her head. "I owe you."

"As always," she said, walking out of the room.

It was a minute after nine when he went rushing to her cabin. He had cheated a bit and Apparated there. She was just coming down the steps. As always, she looked beautiful. She was wearing a khaki colored cotton skirt with a white tank top. On her feet were flip-flops. Her hair was up in a simple ponytail.

"I was about to come and get you," she smiled, walking down the steps.

"I was running a bit behind. And Fred wishes you would wake up at a reasonable hour."

"Fred?"

"My twin brother. Anyways, ready?"

"You do know where it's at don't you?" she asked.

"Err…no."

"Grab my arm." He grabbed her arm and they Apparated to the zoo.

They had Apparated behind a tree that was in front of the zoo gates. They were just now opening them and Claire started walking toward the gates. George caught up to her and took in his surroundings. There were no animals yet, but there was a gift shop on one side and a ticket booth on the other.

She walked to the ticket booth and said to the lady behind the glass, "Two adults please."

"That will be twenty-nine pounds," the older woman said, accepting the money.

"I should be paying for this," George whispered in her ear.

"Do you have Muggle money?"

"No."

"Then I pay," she smiled, taking his hand and leading him into the zoo. Their first stop was the polar bear who was swimming in the pool.

Around eleven-thirty, they were both hungry. They stopped at The Grille, the zoo restaurant and had hamburgers and fries, which George liked very much.

Their last stop was the elephants. There were four elephants all together, one male and three females. The male elephant, Sneezy, was rolling around in the small little pond that was there for him and having a good time. They laughed and went outside to see the females in their pen.

Claire looked around and whispered to George, "Want to see something cool?"

"Always."

Making sure that they were alone and that no zookeepers were around, she held her hands out in front of her. The three female elephants turned slowly around to face her. She lifted one of her other hands and they all stood up on their back feet. Then they started to kick their feet out in a slow dance. After about a minute of dancing, they returned all four of their feet to the ground.

"Wow! How did you do that?" George asked.

"I'm good with animals," she smiled. She waved her hands toward herself and then the elephants started walking toward them. The elephants put their trunks over the fence and she started to pet them. George followed suit.

"I learned that at a seminar back at Salem. It was called 'Communicating with Magical Animals.' I figured you can communicate with normal animals, too. I was the only person that could actually communicate with the animals though. They have to be able to trust you. Animals have like a sixth sense when it comes to that. If they look at you they can tell if you are bad or not. Evidently I'm not bad," she smiled.

"I guess not," George smiled back.

They walked out of the zoo and Claire grabbed his arm as he Apparated them outside of the Leaky Cauldron. They walked through the pub and out to the back where George opened the gateway to Diagon Alley. Claire's eyes got real big at all the sights.

"Wow," she breathed. "This is so much bigger than Mavenhurst Boulevard."

They walked down the cobblestone street and stopped at Florean Fortescue's for some ice cream. While they were sitting down enjoying their sundaes, George looked up and saw Ginny and Hermione coming out of Madam Malkin's.

"Damn," he said. He quickly pulled his wand out and did a quick Disillusionment Charm, but it was too late. They had seen him and Claire.

"Hello, dear brother!" Ginny yelled, trying to make a scene. Hermione, who was behind Ginny was laughing into her hand.

George took the Disillusionment charm off and mumbled,"Hello, Ginny."

"Who is this?" she asked, pointing to Claire.

"I'm Claire, George's date for this morning," she smiled, shaking Ginny's hand.

"Ohh…an American. Welcome to Diagon Alley. I'm Ginny, George's sister. This is Hermione, George's soon to be sister-in-law." Claire also shook hands with Hermione. "Well, we better get going. What time are you going to be home for dinner so I can tell mum," Ginny asked George, trying not to laugh.

"Don't you dare-" he started.

"Oops, look at the time! Gotta run!" Ginny laughed, running toward the Leaky Cauldron.

Claire, who was smiling, said, "They seem nice."

"You should change that seem to seemed," George grumbled.

Claire laughed and said, "Come on, lets go see your store."


	3. The Store and the Creature

A/N: Sorry for the long update on this story. I had many brain farts and have rewritten this chapter like 2 or 3 times (which is unusual for me because I usually write a chapter out and post it before I decide to change the whole thing). Also, for those of you who don't know how I got the name Grandma Mazur, it's from the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich (One for the Money, Two for the Dough, etc.). Grandma Mazur is a cooky old woman, who is always making some joke. Anyways, this chapter is for Miriam (crazy-obsessed-jacksparrow-fan) who told me to get up off my toosh and update this thing quicker. Anyways, enjoy!

George led the way to the store. The street that was Diagon Alley was fairly crowded, mainly with witches who were down for the day. They finally arrived at the store, which had a rather large line queuing up outside. George pushed his way by many Hogwarts students and soon-to-be Hogwarts students, many of them yelling at him for cutting in line. George ignored them.

Once inside, Claire gasped. Fred and George had added onto the store when the money came rolling in and it looked a lot smaller from the outside. A special charm from Remus Lupin made the space larger for their growing inventory. One wall was filled with some of Fred and George's first inventions, Skiving Snackboxes and Fake Wands among them.

After the initial shock of the size of the store, Claire said, "Some business you got here." She picked up a Fainting Fancy and said with a tone of affection, "Ahh…Fainting Fancies. These used to get me out of a lot of History of Magic classes."

"Well, anything you want is on the house," George smiled, taking the box of Fainting Fancies to the counter.

"Oh, I don't think I could," Claire replied, though her eyes didn't really meet his as she picked up a rainbow colored quill. "What are these?" she asked, picking one of the quills up.

"Those are Color Quills. You draw a picture and it will automatically color in what you are drawing. It would actually be perfect for you."

She smiled and said, "Well, then I will take a couple."

As they were about to leave, Claire stopped at a cage near the door. In the cage were various colors of what looked to be colored puffs.

"What are those?" she asked, sticking her finger through the cage cautiously.

"Those are Pygmy Puffs. They are like mini-Puffskeins. We started out with just typical colors like pink and purple, but now we have every color imaginable," George replied, opening the cage from the top. "Which one do you like?"

Clair bit her lip as if making a life changing decision. "I think I'll take that one," she said, pointing to an orange and white Pygmy Puff. George grabbed it and handed it to her, and the little Puff skittered around her hand. "He's so cute! Wait a minute, it is a 'he' right?"

George took the Pygmy Puff and turned it upside down, with a laugh from Claire. "I think it's a girl, as it doesn't have a….well, you know." George said, blushing furiously. "Well, we better go and take this to the front. I need write this down in the book."

Claire nodded and continued to look around the store, stopping every once in a while to pick something up and examine it.

As George was writing down what she picked out, Verity, the first assistant that Fred and George hired, leaned over and whispered, "You must really like her. You never even gave Katie free stuff."

"Yeah, well she isn't like Katie. She's…I don't know…different," he replied with a smile, watching her play Hangman with a smaller child. It was evident that she was letting the child win.

Verity watched his face with a smile plastered on hers. "Well, you better get out of here," she said. "We're about to get the after work crowd, and it's going to be packed. And besides, you're supposed to be on vacation," pushing him slightly towards the door.

"Okay, okay," he said, placing the items in the bag. "You ready to go?" he asked Claire, who has conveniently lost three games in a row to the small girl.

"Yeah, I guess. I thought I was really going to win that one," she said with a wink.

George bade good-bye to the other workers in the store, and stepped out into the now dimming sunlight. The streets had thinned just a bit, but after leaving Diagon Alley, the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron was roaring with people just getting off from work for some late night shopping and a night cap in the wizard pub.

"You ready?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, but I have something to ask you."

"Sure," she replied.

"Would you like to join me and my family for dinner?" he sort of blurted out. _That was real smooth,_ he thought. _She'll probably Apparate right now to get rid of me._ He sort of closed his eyes, waiting for the dreaded reply. Why would she want to meet his parents after only their first date?

He opened his eyes slightly to find her smiling at him. "I would love to. Do you mind if I stop by my house first to freshen up? I want to look nice for your folks."

"That's not a problem…not a problem at all," he replied with an air of relief.

"Well, see you in a second at my cabin," she said, turning on the spot and Apparating.

A second later, he was standing next to her in front of her cabin. Before George could take a step, a large, yellow creature came bounding out of the door at top speed. George, not knowing what to do, stood rooted to the spot. After a second, the creature jumped on him and knocked him on his back, knocking the air out of him. Then he felt something wet and slimy lick his face. Opening his eyes, he saw a large dog licking his face.

"Samson! No! Bad dog!" Claire shouted, pulling the large dog off of George, who was laughing by now. "Get inside right now! We do not jump on strangers!" The dog stood there wagging at Claire, like he knew she didn't mean it. "Are you okay?" she asked, helping George up.

"Fine. I do feel as though a large dog just ran me over though," he replied, brushing his pants off and smiling.

"That's Samson. He's part golden Labrador and part mastiff. He maybe be big, but he still thinks he's a puppy." They looked down to see Samson rolling on the ground. Then Claire let out a little noise and said, "Oh! Look at your hand, it's bleeding!"

George looked down at his hand where a tiny scrape was seeping blood.

"Oh, it's nothing," he replied, trying to wipe it off on his shirt.

"Come on in, I'll put something on it. And don't wipe it on your shirt, I don't want your mother thinking I attacked you on our first date," she said, steering him inside, with Samson hot on their heels. "I don't have any potions, so we'll just have to use some peroxide."

"Some what?"

"Just follow me."

They walked up the stairs and opened the screen door to the cabin. They stood in a foyer, with two doors leading off the room, and one straight ahead next to a set of stairs.

"Who's there?" came an old voice from the left door.

"It's just me grandma," Claire replied, steering George to the stairs.

"Who's that with you?" her grandmother asked.

"It's George Weasley."

An old lady appeared around the corner, walking with a walker. She had white hair and had a frail stature. She had large glasses, and they seemed to magnify her eyes by two. She rolled her walked over to George, and looked at him from behind the enormous glasses. She looked at George as if sizing him up, leaned in and whispered, "Do you know my granddaughter here is a witch and can do magic?"

Claire stifled a giggle and George replied, "Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, so am I."

"I swear, the world is full of you witches and wizards, aren't they?" the old lady laughed, walking back to the room which she came from.

"That's Grandma Mazur. She's a bit…well…odd," Claire said, steering George again up the stairs. She led him to the first room off the landing and sat him down on the toilet. As Claire searched for the peroxide, George looked around the bathroom. It was a simple white room, with a window that had light pouring in it. He noticed how the light played on Claire's hair, turning it a burnt red color. He stared at her for a moment, before realizing she was talking.

"This might sting a bit, but it will subside in a second," she said, taking the cap off of the brown bottle.

"Trust me, I can handle it," George said, giving her his hand. She started to moisten a cotton ball. "Growing up with Fred meant lots of pain, well, with our joke items that is. I have a high tolerance for…OUCH!" he said, as she dabbed the cotton ball on his hand.

"You have a high tolerance for what?" Claire smirked.

"How can Muggles stand that for cuts? What happens when they get bigger scratches than mine?"

"Well, they get stitches," Claire replied, putting the bottle back in the cabinet.

George thought back to when his father had gotten stitches when he was in his seventh year at Hogwarts. His mother was not pleased over that incident. Sometimes his mother still referred to it as "his momentary lapse in sanity."

"Well," Claire said, "just give me five minutes and I'll be ready. Also, I want to know about that 'momentary lapse' your father had." She smiled at him.

"How did you…" George started. "Oh yeah…an 'A' in Divination. Are you sure it wasn't an 'O'?"

"I'm positive. I should have gotten an "O", but the instructor wasn't too pleased with my prediction."

"And what prediction would that be?" George asked curiously.

Suddenly, Claire's smiling face faltered a bit. She bit her lip before answering, "Well, I saw something that sort of ticked him off."

George stood behind her and asked, "And what would that be?"

She hesitated before answering, "Well, I Saw that his mistress had visited his home and told his wife about their affair. I told him it was going to happen that day, and he said I was lying and that he didn't have a mistress. I even described her to him and he turned white and basically quit the examination right there. Later that night, according to neighbors, he came home to find his clothes in their driveway."

"Even though it happened, he still gave you an A?" George asked, sounding astounded.

"Yeah."

"That's outrageous! Why would he do that?"

"Well, he thought it was because of me that it happened, and so he gave me a barely passing grade. I didn't mind though, because I knew that in my heart I deserved at least an 'E.'" She shook her head slightly and said, this time with a smile, "Anyways, let's not worry about that. I want to try some of your mother's cooking."


End file.
